The shared Downtown University Campus planned site was announced recently. It will be on Lee Street and Elm. Chancellor, why is this collaborative initiative important for UNCG and our mission?

We are very excited about the progress that we’ve made over the last three years in our collaboration with other colleges and universities in Greensboro and also with the private sector, through Opportunity Greensboro.

The first phase of the Downtown University Campus is designed around health science programs. We plan on locating our doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program there. This is an advanced degree with a heavy clinical focus which has become the new standard for advanced nursing education. The DNP was approved by the UNC Board of Governors and is expected to begin by enrolling the first class of students in fall 2015.

As you know, we have significant space challenges on the campus. We have had for some time on our capital projects list a replacement for the McIver Building which is designed to house nursing, science labs, and related programming. It is unlikely UNCG will receive state funding for new major capital projects for some time. The collaboration around the downtown facility will enable us to address the needs of one our most outstanding academic programs, nursing, in the absence of a new capital project funded by the state.

Beyond this specific project, the collaboration itself is important and will be more and more common in higher education as we all try to accomplish our goals and fulfill our missions in the absence of new state resources.

Also on Lee Street, the Greensboro Coliseum is the home court for Spartan men’s basketball. A record attendance for a home opener was announced at the first game – a win over High Point University. The student sections were even louder in the game against ECU. Your thoughts on the value of Div. 1 Basketball and athletics on campus life at UNCG?

UNCG made the decision to move to Division I in 1991. We are proud of our membership in the Southern Conference. We believe that the values of that conference are consistent with our university values, particularly the focus on academic success for student athletes. Our student athletes graduate at a higher rate than the overall student population.

Athletics is important at UNCG. We’re a large public university, committed to enhancing student life on campus. Athletics will continue to play an important role.

We are excited about our partnership with the Coliseum. We do believe – as I hear from many students – that athletics is one of the ways that a university can enhance its visibility and build pride not only in athletics but in the academic reputation of the institution.

Can you give a brief update on Spartan Village, including the fourth residence hall, the Police Station, the Pedestrian Underpass and the planned Recreation Center?

We have received very positive feedback from the students who are now living in Spartan Village. The fourth residence hall will open in January and we are excited to bring that part of the project to completion. The pedestrian underpass will open in January as well. It will make it a bit easier for students, faculty and staff to move between Spartan Village and the main campus. The campus police station will open in summer or fall of 2014 and will bring our police force together in one place. The project has been welcomed by the City of Greensboro and – certainly from the perspective of having so many students and so much new activity now on Lee Street – will be an important assurance to the students living there and their families.

We expect to break ground on a new campus recreation center in March of 2014. That center is designed to replace our existing rec center which was built when we enrolled about 10,000 students. We have worked for a number of years in planning that project, in doing an assessment of need, in surveying students about the kinds of recreation opportunities they would like to see in that center. We are excited about that project as it will also provide an important anchor for the students who are living in Spartan Village. It will provide spaces that can also be used by student groups to host meetings and larger events that currently cannot be accommodated in Elliott University Center.

Spartan Village will enable us to move closer to our goal of housing 40 percent of our undergraduate students on campus. The addition of Jefferson Suites and renovation of the Quad and now the addition of Spartan Village already have made a significant difference in student life in the evenings and on weekends.

I am very pleased at the progress that we have made on every aspect of this project.

It’s a great tradition. Faculty achieving promotion and/or tenure are honored at a reception – and they choose one book for the University Libraries’ collection that will be bookplated to commemorate the milestone.

A message to the UNCG community about the 2013 UNCG SECC campaign, which supports many charitable organizations in our region and state:

We are close to reaching our goal of raising $235,000. As a matter of fact, YOU have raised $192,766, which according to the calculator on my desk is 82 percent of our total. As we head into our holiday break that may include time spent with family and friends, this is the perfect time to think about those who may not have all the wonderful things that we do. Now is a great time to consider sharing some of what we have with those who may be less fortunate. The SECC Campaign gives each donor the freedom to give to agencies of your choice. If you have given already, please accept my thanks. If you haven’t given yet, there is still time to donate. The ePledge for credit card or payroll deduction is easy to do – however, you can always use the paper form to pay by check, payroll deduction or credit card. Our campaign slogan is “UNCG Gives.” I’d like you to consider adding three words to that slogan – “UNCG Gives To Help Others.”

Best wishes to all in the UNCG family – Staff, Faculty, and Retirees – for a happy and healthy holiday season.

What is Campus Weekly doing well and what can it do better? How do you read CW and how often? Please take 5-10 minutes for this readership survey. Three respondents will be chosen randomly to receive a $20 dining card. Thank you.

Access to NC-4 Payroll Tax Withholding Form through UNCGenie
As a new feature, beginning Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, each UNCG employee will have the ability to update their NC-4 State Payroll Withholding Tax information for activity effective January 1, 2014, or later, as well as view history of tax election (withholding status and number of allowances claimed), within UNCGenie self-service. Instructions to access this new feature can be retrieved from the Payroll Forms webpage at http://payroll.uncg.edu/formsinformation/.

North Carolina Payroll Tax Withholding Tax Information Effective January 1, 2014
The North Carolina General Assembly recently enacted House Bill 998 which is effective January 1, 2014. As a result, how you determine the number of allowances for tax year 2014 will differ from previous years. Under this new law, taxpayers may no longer claim a personal exemption for themselves, their spouse, children, or other qualifying dependents. Additionally, many deductions and tax credits that impact North Carolina withholding tax are no longer available for tax years beginning on or after January 1. Most taxpayers will not be entitled to as many allowances, and as a result, more taxpayers should claim zero (0) allowances. Additional information is available at http://www.dornc.com/press/2013/nc4requirement.html.

In accordance with the new regulations, employers must set the default NC withholding status to “Single” with “0” allowances unless the employee specifically provides documentation otherwise. To comply with the new North Carolina tax law, your NC-4 tax withholding record in the Banner Payroll System has been changed to reflect the status of “Single” with “0” allowances and “$0” additional withholding, effective January 1, 2014.

Beginning Dec. 9, 2013, if you determine that your withholding information should differ from this standard default of “Single” with “0” allowances and “$0” additional withholding, you should update your applicable Form NC-4 withholding information in UNCGenie.

Although the Payroll Office staff cannot provide tax (including withholding) advice, if you have general questions, contact Pat Davis, payroll manager, at padavis@uncg.edu or (336) 334-4126.

The presentations are over. And the 2013 Leadership Institute class has graduated.

The UNCG Leadership Institute is designed to provide staff, faculty, and administrators with a significant, year-long opportunity to increase their leadership skills and accelerate their own leadership performance and readiness at the unit, department, or division level. The program is focused on emerging leaders. At the end of the year, participants present their completed projects.

The institute members were in six teams, with each researching and developing a topic throughout the year. The teams made their presentations to the chancellor and executive staff, as well as to their insitute colleagues and mentors, last week. The topics included Business Intelligence, MOOC experience, Strategic Plan Models, Strategic Space Management and UNCG: A Model for Diversity and Engaging Parents.

Visual: One team creatively alluded to “Star Trek” in its presentation on strategic space management at UNCG. Afterward they posed together with the chancellor. Team members are Joshua Artrip, Brad Johnson, Leah Tompkins, Trey McDonald and Sarah Krive. Photograph courtesy Adam Horton.

What comes to mind when you hear “Guantánamo”? A prison? A military base? What about a place of refuge? Or your home?

Public History master’s students at UNCG have uncovered a rich set of stories about the naval base that they are featuring in a new exhibition, The Guantánamo Public Memory Project. It opens December 12, 2013, at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.

Exhibit visitors will encounter rich personal stories, learn how the U.S. Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay has impacted individual lives, and explore how American foreign policy has shaped the base. Visitors will also get to add their own voices to the GTMO debate by submitting their opinions via text messaging.

Inspired by their work with this national project, the UNCG graduate students have created a set of public programs to extend its reach. The “GTMO & GSO” programs include a cultural event series, children’s story hours, and exhibition supplements that highlight local resonances with the GTMO story.

The “Voices from Guantánamo” cultural event series features military personnel, scholars, and people who lived at GTMO sharing first-hand accounts of life at the base. The first program, on December 12, marks the exhibit’s opening at the museum. The panel explores base life during the Cold War, a period that, while tension-filled internationally, many base residents remember as idyllic. In addition to exploring the exhibit during the opening, visitors will also have the chance to sample (free of charge) authentic Cuban cuisine provided by Miami’s Cafe of Winston-Salem.

The second program, on Jan. 9, 2014, explores the hardships faced by Cuban and Haitian refugees during the 1990s.

On January 31, the final program will consider the contemporary controversies surrounding detention at GTMO. Each of these 3 programs, which are free admission, begin at 7 p.m.

The exhibit’s arrival is the culmination of work that began a year and a half ago. Eleven universities from across the country collaborated to research and design the traveling exhibition. Guided by Dr. Benjamin Filene, director of Public History and associate professor, the UNCG students delved into GTMO’s history, interviewed former GTMO residents, and collaborated with an exhibit designer to create the exhibit panel on life at the base in the Cold War era.

“Starting this project, we never imagined the complexities we would uncover surrounding everyday relations between Cubans and Americans,” says student Hayley Whitehead.

The Exhibit Opening for the Guantanamo Public Memory Project will be December 12, 6 p.m.

“GTMO & GSO” is made possible in part by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the UNCG Department of History.

Do you help create communications for your UNCG department or unit? Start gathering your best materials that demonstrate how you have executed the university’s marketing and communication strategy and UNCG’s Do something bigger altogether tagline.

The UNCG Community of Content Creators (C3) steering committee is making preparations for UNCG’s next DSBA Awards ceremony, to be held March 28, 2014, at 2 p.m. in the EUC Auditorium & Pre-Function Area.

A panel of marketing and communication professionals from the Greensboro community will judge entries. Categories include print, photography, social media, advertising, writing and web. Awards will be given for first, second and third place, and there’ll be a grand award, the Gold Pennant.

Visit the UNCG C3 web site in mid-December for information about submission guidelines and the deadline for entering.

At Festival of Lights Dec. 6, stop in at the old Silver’s Building to see the work of UNCG Interior Architecture students. It’s the first time UNCG Interior Architecture has been a part of a First Friday event downtown.

Dr. Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll’s 4th year IAR studio will exhibit their designs for the adaptive reuse of the Silver’s Building, at Washington and Elm.

Sixteen students have spent the semester reimagining the Silver’s Five & Dime through an adaptive reuse. The designs are all mixed-use proposals.

The UNCG College of Arts and Sciences Staff Council has kicked off a Canned Food Collection Drive that will continue through Dec. 19. Collection boxes are in MHRA, Curry, Graham, Foust, Gatewood, Eberhart, Petty and Brown. The council plans to distribute donations to GSO Urban Ministry, the Triad Health Project and potentially the Second Harvest Food Bank. Food banks all over the area are low on non-perishable foods and count on this “giving” time of year and our generosity to replenish their shelves, the council adds. Contact UNCG’s CAS Staff Council for additional information: mmdargat@uncg.edu or a_szarka@uncg.edu.

An in-depth pilot of all three candidates for the UNCS LMS system will take place next semester.

Earlier this year, UNCG launched a project to evaluate alternatives for the Learning Management System (LMS) to be used at UNCG. The purpose of the study is to determine which product best meets faculty and student needs and what the University can cost-effectively support.

UNCG has used Blackboard Learn as its LMS for a number of years. Over the years, a number of faculty have voiced concerns regarding some of the characteristics of the Blackboard product.

Vendor presentations of Blackboard Learn, Desire2Learn, and Canvas by Instructure were held in August and September.

For more information about the LMS study as it becomes available, visit the LMS study web site at http://lms.uncg.edu/

“OnStage and InFocus: The Story,” a documentary film about promoting the inclusion of people of varying abilities in our community by sharing their stories in an inclusive theater program, will premier on Tuesday, Dec. 10, in the EUC auditorium on the UNCG campus. A reception will precede the film at 5:30 p.m.

InFocus is an advocacy strategy that uses photography and dialogue to give a voice to people who are frequently unheard. The OnStage and InFocus program is in association with UNCG Department of Community and Therapeutic Recreation, The Arc of Greensboro and the Community Theatre of Greensboro.

It was like the game Telephone Pictionary. And only now can UNCG participants see how the “game” turned out.

And you can too.

The exhibition “The Messenger Project” is on view in UNCG’s EUC Gallery through December 20.

UNCG creative writing students and studio artists, one after the other, created the works.

The idea was simple:

A writer would create a poem or prose work. And take it to the student artists’ lounge and leave it in a gold mailbox. A student there, inspired by the work, would create a drawing or other art piece. And take that to the writers’ lounge, where they had a special box. You had three days’ time limit to create your work and deliver it. Anonymity for each work was protected. Ultimately, 15 students and faculty participated over a month and a half. Their series of works is on display, placed in chronological order. (As you enter, start from the right.)

Three UNCG graduate student organizers – Amanda Wagstaff, Molly Sentell Haile and Jessica Plante – kept a spreadsheet, to keep it all organized. They met through UNCG’s Center for Creative Writing in the Arts. At the Opening Reception in late November, Wagstaff explained that the student organizers were looking for an innovative way to spur interdisciplinary dialogue, even in the face of university budget cuts.

She notes the works are displayed just as they were found.

If you want to see the exhibition of “flash art,” stop in soon before it’s gone.

On Nov. 16, the ninth Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS) was held on the campus of UNC Charlotte. This year’s SNCURCS combined with the NC Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NC-LSAMP) Annual Research Conference to include 349 abstracts, of which 12 were from UNCG.

Two Spartans were awarded the 2013 George T. Barthalmus Undergraduate Research Grant:
Camile Knudsen, mentored by Dr. Elizbeth Perrill of Art History, for “The Cultural Identities of Korean Potters.”
Rupa Vummalaneni, mentored by Dr. Mitchell Croatt of Chemistry, for “Mechanistic Investigation into a Novel Decarboxylation Reaction.”

Lewis, an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development, wanted to write a textbook that went beyond the current theories of substance abuse counseling.

He also wanted to give students a closer look at the real-world, clinical aspects.

The title of his new text, “Substance Abuse and Addiction Treatment: Practical Application of Counseling Theory,” published by Pearson, reflects his aim.

Most textbooks on substance abuse counseling are heavy on addiction-based information, Lewis says, but leave students wondering, “Well what does counseling actually look like in session with someone addicted to substances?” His book, by contrast, is “chock-full of technique, but technique grounded in theory.”

Lewis has used the book in his substance abuse counseling course this fall. To bring the theories to life, he uses a running case study, “Michael,” an amalgam of clients Lewis has worked with in his clinical practice.

He lays out Michael’s case along with popular treatment theories — including cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing — and applies each theory to Michael’s case. He brings in numerous other case studies along the way.

To help them build empathy for those addicted to substances, Lewis requires students in his substance abuse counseling course to give up a habit for the semester. It could be something as simple as nail biting or a favorite food.

Box works with PCs, Macs, and mobile devices and offers integration with Google Apps. The pilot will help determine whether Box is a suitable replacement for some locally-provided network file storage such as “SpartanDrive” directories (“S:” drives). The pilot is not intended for data with strict protection and reporting requirements.

UNCG’s Emergency Management, led by Jason Marshburn, has received $224,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the purchase of an emergency generator.

It will support the UNCG Police facility and emergency operations center near the new Pedestrian Underpass. This generator will allow UNCG to provide emergency assistance to the campus community on a continued basis without disruption, regardless of storms or unusual weather.

An exhibition by UNCG’s Public History program will help commemorate the 50th anniversary of our institution becoming UNCG. The exhibition, “Everyday Change – Stories of UNCG, 1963-1973,” shares the stories of students as they experienced changes on campus related to the university becoming a coeducational institution; the Civil Rights Movement with integration, creation of a new student group, and new curriculum; and student debates about the Vietnam War.

The exhibit will be on view Dec. 10 through Jan. 6. in the Hodges Reading Room/Special Collections, second floor of Jackson Library.

Two UNCG students published the results of their faculty-mentored undergraduate research in the 2013 edition of Explorations – The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina.

Luke Kaiser, mentored by Dr. Jeffrey Soles in Classical Studies, published “Observing and Analyzing Coastal Hellenistic Fortifications with Remote Sensing and GIS.” Luke is a pursuing a triple major in Classical Archaeology, Special Programs in Liberal Studies Archaeology, and English, as well as a minor in Geographic Information Science. He has been the recipient of three Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Awards. Luke is currently the president of the University Archaeological Association.

Michelle Janine Lanteri, mentored by Dr. Elizabeth Perrill in Art History, published an article titled “Earth Forms: The Boundless Art of Lonnie Vigil and Ansel Adams.” Michelle has earned two degrees from UNCG including a B.A. in Media Studies with a minor in Spanish in 2002, and a BA in Art History and Museum Studies in May of 2013.

The deadline for next volume of Explorations is June 1, 2014. For more information, go to the Explorations web site.

The Small Business Institute Program in the UNCG Bryan College of Business and Economics and the Entrepreneurship Cross-Disciplinary Program qualified in the top 3 Projects of the Year for the SBI Awards in the country.

The Undergraduate Feasibility Analysis submission was by students Marilynn Barr (author), Brandi Johnson, Bob McDaniel, Chantha Nie, and Eric Sorber, with Dianne Welsh, project director. The Raffaldini Vineyards is the graduate comprehensive submission that placed in the top 3. It was done by students Gordon Trimble, Scott Jordan and Taylor Pittman, Richard Browne and Bonnie Canziani, project directors. Dianne Welsh serves as the UNCG SBI Director.

The awards will be presented at the Small Business Institute Annual Conference in Las Vegas in February. They will find out then which award they have won. Bonnie Canziani, Nick Williamson and Dianne Welsh will attend.

Your next Campus Weekly will publish Jan. 8, the week before classes begin. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 2. For news updates until Jan. 8, follow CW on Twitter at https://twitter.com/campusweekly.

CW’s Twitter feed is a great way to learn things that are not published in CW. Get news of the moment, reminders about upcoming events, pictures from around campus, real-time information. It’s an additional news source to complement UNCG’s faculty/staff news source, Campus Weekly.

I passed the Minerva statue on the wet, dark Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving. In recent months I’d seen various things left there for good luck – fruits, flowers, coins, a potted plant. Even a baseball, I believe around the time the baseball team had open tryouts. I’d seen occasional notes over the last couple of years. And lots of apples.

But on that wet evening there were four apples neatly placed in the center of the four sides. These apples bore wishes written with a Sharpie. That was unique, in the growing campus tradition. The red apple in the front of the statue began, “I have an exam tomorrow. I really want to do well.”

To the person who wrote that, here’s hoping your wish came true – and then some. And best wishes for all our students at exam time.

Dr. Terence Nile (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received new funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the project “REU Site: A Multi-site, Multi-institutional International REU”. It will fund a new International Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site for chemistry students. Ten students from colleges/universities in the US will carry out summer research at the Universities of Bristol, Bath and Cardiff in the United Kingdom. The program will be based on the very successful NSF funded program at the University of Bristol involving Nile and students from Greensboro-area colleges and universities in the summers of 2010-12.

Dr. Timothy D. Johnston recently was elected to serve as president of the Council of Colleges of Arts & Sciences in 2015. CCAS is a national association of baccalaureate degree-granting colleges of arts and sciences whose purpose is to sustain the arts and sciences as a leading influence in American higher education.

Johnston is dean of UNCG’s College of Arts & Sciences and professor of psychology. A member of the faculty at UNCG since 1982, Johnston served as associate dean of the college and director of the Center for Critical Inquiry in the Liberal Arts from 1990 to 1997 and as head of the Department of Psychology from 1997 to 2002 before becoming dean in 2002. He has been a member of CCAS for 18 years and was elected to its board of directors in 2011. A frequent presenter at annual meetings, he previously was a member of the Committee on Research Universities.

Johnston graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1970 with a B.Sc. in wildlife management and holds a master’s in zoology from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in biobehavioral sciences from the University of Connecticut. His research has focused on the development and evolution of animal behavior.

Johnston will serve as president-elect of CCAS until November of 2014, when he will become president.

Dr. Joy Bhadury (Bryan School of Business and Economics) received funding from the NCSU Institute for Transportation Research and Education for the project “Survey Development For NC Department of Motor Vehicles”. The project will develop a survey of peer DMV offices across the country, to be conducted by NC DMV. It is the intention of NC DOT that the information collected by this survey will be used as a part of a larger project to better assess the performance of license plate agencies being currently used by NC DMV and benchmark their effectiveness against peer states.

Dr. David Wyrick (Public Health Education) received funding from Prevention Strategies, LLC, for the project “Drug and Alcohol Prevention for Student Athletes”. The broad aim of this project is to use existing theory, research, and instructional technology to develop an innovative web-based alcohol and other drug prevention program for student-athletes. The primary aims of this study are to: (1) Complete outlining and development of the remaining seven myPlaybook sessions; and (2) Conduct a randomized control effectiveness trial of myPlaybook with student-athletes from 60 universities.

At the recent reception for faculty receiving tenure and/or promotion, several honorees spoke about the book they decided to select for the UNCG Libraries collection. See some highlights of the event. Video produced by Jenna Schad.

Opportunity Greensboro wants to locate the Downtown University Campus at South Elm and Lee streets as a cornerstone of redevelopment in the corridor.

The organization — a partnership between area businesses, city leaders and local universities — announced the preferred location for the shared campus Tuesday. The vacant land, owned by the City of Greensboro, is bound by South Elm, East Lee and Arlington streets, and backs up to a planned section of the Downtown Greenway.

Chancellor Linda P. Brady called the Downtown University Campus “an amazing collaboration.” “This site has been waiting for something to happen,” she said after the press conference. “It needed this kind of project to bring change.”

UNCG will play a large role in the project. From the outset, the School of Nursing will provide education and training for nurses at the new facility, which will house the school’s new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, scheduled to launch in Fall 2015.

Brady stood alongside N.C. A&T Chancellor Harold Martin, GTCC President Randy Parker and Cone Health CEO Tim Rice at Tuesday’s news conference to speak about the collaborative project, its significance for their respective institutions and its importance for the city as a whole.

This first building at the site will cost about $40 million. Completion is projected for summer 2016. Funds would come from lease fees, the city, corporate gifts and grants.

A current building plan includes a 105,000-square-foot facility that reaches to four floors and includes shared classrooms, labs, an auditorium, seminar and meeting rooms, a student support center and office space.

Brady said the option to lease space and share costs is essential for UNCG and other public universities given the current budgetary climate.

Robin Remsburg, dean of the UNCG School of Nursing, said the DNP program will serve about 150 students. The DNP is emerging as a preferred degree in the field, providing experience and training beyond the masters in nursing, she said.

Other plans call for the School of Nursing to serve registered nurses working on the Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. Many of those nurses would be Cone Health employees.

The air’s turning cold. The days are shorter. And the holiday season is almost upon us, at UNCG.

Some seasonal events:

UNCG’s Branches of Love will provide decorated trees to area families that otherwise would not have one this holiday season. Teams of students will have one hour to decorate a Christmas tree that will be given to a local family in need. The event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23, from 1-3 p.m. in the Alumni House.

Any campus group may form a team – or individuals may create teams. When given to the families, each Christmas tree will be accompanied by a bag of canned food items. Each team will bring 10 canned food items as their entry fee. Come be a part of the legacy of service and participate. To receive more information and to pick up an application, stop by the Office of Alumni Relations (in the Alumni House). The deadline to enter is Nov. 20. Have questions? Contact Ashlyn Helms: alhelms@uncg.edu. The event is sponsored by the Student Alumni Ambassadors.

Holiday reception for faculty/staff Enjoy refreshments and the camaraderie of fellow staff and faculty at the annual seasonal reception. The event will be in the Virginia Dare Room, Alumni House, on Tuesday, Dec. 3, from 4-6 p.m.

A dedication ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. at Moran Plaza (The Fountain). Hear about the history of the luminaries and enjoy a performance by the co-ed a cappella group The Chariots, while sampling hot chocolate and cookies. There’ll be special favors for finals week, a UNCG Winter Wear raffle and more.

The event is sponsored by the Fraternity and Sorority Association and UNCG Grounds.

UNCG Bookstore Faculty & Staff Appreciation Sale Find something for all the Spartans on your holiday shopping list. The sale will be Dec. 2. In addition to your current 20 percent Faculty/Staff discount, take an extra 10 percent off non-textbook items. (Magazines, Nook, computer hardware and software not included.) Just present your SpartanCard to the cashier to receive your discount

Staff Senate Angel Tree donations deadline – Tuesday, Dec. 3. Three UNCG students and three staff members have been nominated for this year’s Angel Tree – providing a brighter holiday season for them and their families. See CW story on items requested and drop off location.

Downtown Festival of Lights The free event – a downtown Greensboro tradition – will be the evening of Friday, Dec. 6, along Elm Street. It always features a variety of UNCG groups and individuals among its performers.

The first big biology test was a bit of a shock. They’d known this wasn’t like high school, where they’d all made excellent grades. But still …

Hadn’t they left their good luck offerings at the Minerva statue to start the year?

A dozen students in the Science & Medical Careers learning community at Grogan RC took part in the growing campus tradition at the statue in August. Campus Weekly wanted to know how things were going so far.

Their hardest classes? Biology, several say. Chemistry others say. One says psychology, since the other classes take so much study time. Other hard ones are intro to computer science. Spanish. Plus Russian folklore.

There’s lots of good things about UNCG, they explain.

Alyse Schmidt likes that everybody at UNCG is supportive. “It’s not survival of the fittest.” Regardless of students’ characteristics, “you never feel out of place.” She entered her freshman year as a pre-med chemistry major, but is now drawn toward sociology.

Ashlyn Fisher says, “It’s peaceful and there’s a lot of places to study.” Jajiba Biswas agrees. “It’s my new home. It’s so pretty.” When she goes home, she misses her new brothers and sisters at Grogan. “My family is here.”

Grogan Residential College now has 240 students in various learning communities – the number has grown to 1,000 students campus-wide.

Danielle Hill likes how easy it is to get involved at UNCG – or to get help. A couple mention being a part of UNCG traditions and heritage. Joseph Diodato, whose calling is computer science, likes how you’re seen for more than just your GPA or some other measurement or stat. “UNCG does great at recognizing potential.”

It seems the learning community’s students came out of the most recent biology test feeling more successful than after the first. Travis Martin, who’d planned to be a dentist but might become a principal, says he placed an apple there before the recent big test. “It was helpful, I think.”

Biswas went back before a big chemistry test and says she’ll go again before finals. “It doesn’t hurt, so why not?” She’s a biology major and wants to have her own dentistry practice.

Her wish back on that first day of classes? “To make the Dean’s List.”

Recently, their LC leader and biology lecturer Meg Horton said, “These students did more than wish for good grades – they have worked for them.” After the time of the first exam, grades have soared. “I am really proud of their determination and resiliency.”

Katherine Nicholson, a pre-veterinary freshman, isn’t sure leaving an offering at the Minerva statue really brings good luck. Going with her new friends and leaving an apple on that first day of classes was simply her way of hoping for a really good semester. “To know I started out with the best hopes and aspirations.”

In late August, they’d told each other their wishes and goals. They’d left their apples and coins behind. And taken resolve – as individuals and as part of a learning community – back to Grogan with them.

It’s the time of year to offer nominations for the Gladys Strawn Bullard Award. This prestigious award honors faculty, staff and students who provide outstanding leadership and service to UNCG.

The Bullard Selection Committee asks your support in forwarding the online Bullard nomination material (https://uncg.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9z4MkIrNXE6mTyt) to those in your division who would have knowledge of faculty, staff and students who meet the criteria for this award.